The purpose of this award is to prepare the candidate, Dr. Claudia Chae, for a career as an independent clinical scientist in cardiovascular epidemiology, with particular expertise in the prevention and treatment of congestive heart failure (CHF), her area of clinical and scientific interest. The applicant proposes a five-year program of research that prospectively examines risk factors for CHF in women, in whom limited epidemiologic data exist. The hypotheses to be examined include the influence of diabetes mellitus, obesity and abdominal adiposity, hormone replacement status, antioxidant intake and alcohol use on the risk of CHF. These studies will be performed in the Nurses' Health Study of 121,700 women currently aged 51 to 76 years. The detailed exposure information and long follow-up time in this cohort offer a unique opportunity to study, in prospective data, potentially modifiable risk factors for CHF in a very large and well-characterized population of women. At the conclusion of the award period, Dr. Chae will have acquired the advanced epidemiologic skills which will enable her to independently conduct research in the prevention and treatment of heart failure.